BICYCLING ALASKA-Page 3

Layover at Denali continued...


June 29th to July 7th

At the backpackers and bicyclers campground the rangers occasionally had an evening talk on bears to educate folks about safely enjoying the backcountry.

This is a bunch of bear stuff used during the ranger talk which includes radio transmitters, and bearproof food canisters for backpacking.

In this frontside campground everyone is advised to keep their food in this bearproof food locker. By the way and unlike any other national park, at Denali when a bear wanders into a campground the rangers remove the people instead of the bear.

During the first couple of days at Denali I operated out of my campsite in the campground at the park entrance as I became more familiar with how things operated. I also went to all the typical tourist attractions like the dog sled demonstrations as seen above.

The sled dogs are always hyper to be running and this dog couldn't stay off his own roof!

This is "Gemini" and he likes to have his picture taken.

On the left is Marty, a fellow I'd met several days ago and who had pedaled his bike all the way from Wisconsin to Alaska! Here we are loading the shuttle bus with our bicycles and on our way 60 miles into the heart of the park to Wonder Lake, as far as any road goes into the park. No private cars are allowed inside Denali and the big ole yeller shuttle buses are the only way to "get inside". Our plan was to take the shuttle to Wonder Lake then bicycle the 60 miles back, since "pedaled" transportation is allowed.

After the long shuttle bus ride here is my meager campsite at the Wonder Lake campground. Unfortunately I've compressed this photo too much for fine detail, but what appears as a cluster of clouds on the lower right of the sky is actually Mount Denali, the highest mountain in North America!

And it's a caribou trotting down the gravel road like he owns it! Well, I suppose that he actually does.

Here is a park ranger giving hiking directions to some wanna-be explorers. As usual grizzly bear precautions are always a part of the talk!

Join me on points south to Anchorage, Seward, and Prince William Sound on Page 4!...

click here for PHOTOS PAGE 4

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